Registration opens for Russian International Olympic University scholarships

Tuesday, 20 November 2012

By Tom Degun

November 20 - Registration for the first ever scholarships to study the Russian International Olympic University's (RIOU) prestigious international Master of Sport Administration have now opened.

A total of 20 scholarships for the course are being made available by the Vladimir Potanin Foundation, who will financially support the most talented and deserving applicants for the academic year when it begins next September.

The Master of Sport Administration course at the RIOU will allow students to acquire new knowledge and skills in relation to sports organisations, sports events and sports event management while it aims to create future managers in the Olympic Movement.

Potanin, who is chairman of the RIOU Supervisory Board, has taken an active role in the University's creation and said the 20 scholarship places will be offered only to the very best applicants.

"I believe that personal endorsement is the most effective means to stimulate the best students," he said.

"As one of the founders of RIOU, I would like the new MSA programme at the University to involve the brightest candidates from the outset.

"And a rigorous selection process is the best way to identify the best – and not just in the field of sport."

Vladimir Potanin is chairman of the RIOU Supervisory Board

The 20 students who are selected by The Vladimir Potanin Foundation will receive a grant which will cover the fees of the full-time Master of Sport Administration course, including all accommodation costs on the new state-of-the-art RIOU campus in Sochi.

Each of the 20 grants offered in 2013-2014 will cover around $30,000 (£19,000/€23,000) per student, while the will be covering the final preparations for the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics and Paralympics.

"We are so grateful to The Vladimir Potanin Foundation for offering us this amazing gift," said RIOU chief executive Professor Lev Belousov.

"At the University, our main priority is to have the most talented and deserving students learning with us.

"It is not always the case that these students have the best financial support so these Foundation scholarships will help to ensure that the very best students are able to join for our first intake in 2013."

Applications for the scholarships can only be made once a place on the MSA course has been secured.

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Fact of the day

Hulking Swedish actor Dolph Lundgren is best known to movie fans for his role in the film Rocky IV in 1985. For the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta he was selected by the United States Olympic Committee as the team leader of the American modern pentathlon team. Though he attended the Games and marched with the US delegation in the Opening Ceremony, his role was largely honorary. It was bestowed on Lundgren as a result of the time he spent training with the team in preparation for his role in the film Pentathlon, where he starred as an East German Olympic gold medalist on the run from an abusive coach played by David Soul. As a result of the time he spent with the team, Lundgren became a major supporter of the campaign to keep modern pentathlon on the Olympic programme.

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